Ingredient Information

Function

Acetic acid is used as a preservative for long term food storage. It is also the principal constituent of vinegar produced by fermentation. Vinegar is a diluted solution of acetic acid along with the extracts of the original plant material used for fermentation. Acetic acid is used for pickling fruits and vegetables and also in sauces and marinades to prevent the growth of bacteria.

Other Use and Industries

Acetic acid is used to manufacture vinyl acetate monomer. This monomer may be polymerized to polyvinyl acetate which is further used in paints and adhesives. Acetic acid esters are used for making surface coatings, paints and inks. Acetic acid is also used to produce acetic anhydride, which in turn, was used for developing photographic films and purifying heroin. Diluted acetic acid is used for descaling bathroom fixtures as well as preventing growth of fungi and bacteria in hay and other animal silage.

Health Effects

Acetic acid is corrosive to skin and can be a mild irritant to eyes if eyes are exposed to vapors of acetic acid. Apart from these extreme effects, Acetic acid is routinely used as an ulcer-causing mechanisms in rats in studies for understanding ulcers. However, glacial acetic acid is used in these experiments and hence they cannot be correlated with acetic acid exposure from food.

Origins

Acetic acid can be manufactured synthetically as well as from fermentation. Acetic acid is produced from apple cider or wine, and by the bacterial fermentation of grain, rice, malt, or potatoes using bacteria from the genus Acetobacter. Industrial acetic acid is chemically produced.

Acetic Acid is produced as a precursor to polyvinyl-acetate and cellulose acetate. It is approved for use in food in USA, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The global demand for Acetic Acid is 6.5 million tonnes (Mt/a) per year. 1.5 Mt/a is met by recycling and the rest comes from petrochemical feedstock. In the 8th centurey, Jabin Hayyan was the first to concentrate acetic acid from vinegar through distillation. In 1847, German chemist Hermann Kolbe synthetically produced acetic acid from an inorganic compound for the first time. In the production of acetic acid, the clorinization of carbon disulfide produces carbon tetrachloride. This is followed by the pyrolysis of tetrachloro-ethylene to trichloroacetic acid, which is reduced to acetic acid by electrolysis. Currently, most acetic acid comes from the pyroligneous liquor of distilled wood.